Dragon Ball Z 1. Chapter 1

With a groan and sigh Vegeta shifted himself in his bed. Capsule Corp. was quite and still as he listened to the lulling sound of some random machine somewhere on the compound. Sleep teased the edges of his awareness at times, but never fully took him. He was not finding it any easier to sleep now then when he first arrived. He missed space, something about being planet bound was not suiting him. He was uneasy and restless, even when training, which was a first for him as far as he knew. He closed his eyes as another sigh escaped his body.

Bulma entered the kitchen earlier then most mornings that day. Humming to herself she walked over the the counter and clicked on the coffee maker. She knew he was there, in the corner of the room, watching her, but then again, he watched everyone. She was glad that they had seemed to reach an agreement about putting up with each other. He left her alone and she did the same, it was a match made in heaven. Sure the arguments still happened, but to them that was just the way they had conversations.

"Vegeta I am going into town today, is there anything you need?" She asked pouring her coffee into the mug. He watched her carefully fascinated by the methodical motions of her body even though he knew she was not fully awake, how she was able to function half asleep actually impressed him at times.

"Nothing I can think of..." Was grunted as an answer. Bulma walked over and sat at the table slowly sipping the black liquid and letting it warm her body. Her brain as of late was beginning to wonder... and with her, that was never a good thing. She wondered mostly about Vegeta, and what it was that made him the way he was, curiosity slowly overtook her.

"Do you like it here Vegeta?" She asked bluntly, she figured bluntness would probably be the best route with the prince. His face never moved, years of training put to good use he thought. But inside there was a jolt of awareness that overtook him, _Where did this come from?_ His mind pondered.

"It suits my requirements for the moment." He stated with no emotion. She watched him over the rim of the mug.

"And when it stops suiting you? Where will you go?" She inquired knowing that at any moment there would be a backlash.

"Away." He was getting irritable now. Bulma knew this but figured she had already started so why not finish?

"Away where?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just wondering."

"Well don't."

"I don't have to do what you tell me to."

"If you know whats good for you, you will."

"Well I've always been a bit of an idiot in that respect."

"You can say that again."

"Care to elaborate or are we just speaking in general here?" By this time the tone of her voice was dangerous. She knew he was hinting at Yamcha and her failed relationship. She had cried for a week when she finally dumped him, and made Vegeta's life a hell in the process, refusing to do ANY maintenance on anything. He thought better then to re-ignite that little ember.

"In general."

"I'm going to town, don't break anything while I'm gone or there will be hell to pay."

"So your telling me there's a chance for me to pay early?" He smirked as she frowned at him. With that she stood up and left the kitchen for her room and clothes. Vegeta got up as well and headed for the gravity chamber. He let her off lightly he knew, but that was becoming more and more the case lately. He wasn't worried though, he knew that he could do so without anyone else finding out. He didn't mind letting her away with insubordination, but the rest of them would not be so lucky.

*****

Bulma had just finished putting away the groceries and was finally able to sit down at her laboratory table for the day. She began her duties carefully picking apart the burnt and charred pieces of a circuit to one of the bots Vegeta spared with.

The sound of the explosion barely fazed her. She knew this one was different though, much much bigger then a bot. She sat upright at her table closing her eyes. _That cannot be what I think it is..._ Her brain droned. She stood and walked over to the window. There it was... smoldering... her gravity chamber.

"If your still alive Vegeta it won't be for long." She went outside to survey the damage, walking methodically around the rubble she guessed there was nothing fixable, it was scrap, the whole thing. Her eyes widened as she noticed the glove sticking up from the mess, a pang, a deep and horrible pang struck her like an arrow. She assumed he was fine, she had thought he probably flew off to avoid the screaming she was going to do. She ran up the pile of ruble and started digging with her bare hands. Her fingers and palms bled from the cuts and scrapes she was gaining in her effort to free him.

"Vegeta! Baka! Asshole!" She screamed getting desperate.

"Who... the hell... do you think you are?" She heard escape the rubble as she neared his head through the debris. Suddenly the ground below her gave a heave pushing her back as the Sayian stood only to fall again to one knee. She scrambled to stand again bending over him.

"Vegeta you scared the shit out of me! What happened? You destroyed my beautiful machine you baka!" She screeched the situation getting the best of her. Vegeta winced at her tone and she quickly stopped the onslaught. The was a long pause of silence as Vegeta assessed his situation. He could not stand he knew that, he was barely conscious in fact. _Shit... shit... shit..._ Was the mantra in his head. The sleeplessness had a lot to do with it he knew that much, he would never normally succumb to this pitiful amount of damage. "Vegeta?" He heard the woman state carefully, containing her volume this time. He was going to have to do something, he couldn't stay there, he was not going to be seen like this by anyone...

"Listen to me woman..." He started but was quickly interrupted.

"You know I won't say a word to anyone baka, now come on and lean on me." She stated as she helped him to his feet. Vegeta said nothing more, for some strange reason he knew he didn't have to. He wasn't sure why but out of all the idiots on this planet, he trusted this one the most. Bulma and the prince slowly made there way across the lawn and into the compound. Once inside it was only a short distance to the Sayian's room. Bulma carefully let Vegeta ease his way onto the bed earning a small groan out of him as he did. The woman stood in front of him and lowed her face to his, he had not opened his eyes the entire time. "Right... Now how bad are we talking here?" She asked making sure to sound very serious so as not the upset him. She knew his pride had to have been killing him at this point.

"I'll live." He grunted. Bulma sighed and rubbed her temples, the beginning of a headache appearing.

"Vegeta, don't do this, not now. Gimme a bit of help here please." She groaned her patience quickly getting spent. Vegeta thought for a moment, it was either her help, or someone else... the thought alone made him shudder.

"I'm fairly sure I've broken six ribs, my arm is defiantly broken, and there is something stuck in my left side." Was the very military report that came in response finally to her question. Bulma stood upright.

"Right then... first things first." She began by slowly helping the man to pull off his armor and top half of his body suit. She started then to clean off the dirt, soot, and blood to locate the intruding object. It wasn't hard to find, it turned out to actually be a part of his armor the had been blasted inward and impaled him. She found to her shock and surprise, that he actually was quite attractive half clothed. She quickly shook the thought from her head as she set to work removing the shared of armor. "Well... once this is out, if I know anything about Sayian's that is, I'll brace your arm and just leave your ribs alone, and you'll heal up after awhile, it's a good thing your not human." She hummed thinking it had been way to long since he spoke. There was no reply. "Vegeta?" She quizzed looking up from her prying. His eyes were still closed and if she didn't know any better he looked asleep. "Vegeta..." She repeated carefully. Still no reply came, she found herself smirking, he was asleep, the great and powerful always on the ready warrior was sound asleep, and she decided to leave him that way.

*******

Vegeta slowly felt awareness seep into him, he woke one sense at a time, taking in the information of the room. He could smell her fist, she had a light sweet fragrance about her that he couldn't quite pinpoint. Next he heard her, the slow lull of her breathing told him she was asleep and close. His eyes flickered open and adjusted to the light of the room gradually reveling the presence of the Onna sleeping in a chair next to his bed, her head resting in her arms on the desk. He watched her for a long time, thinking over his situation. She had to be the only person in existence he didn't mind seeing him in this state. That had to mean something... didn't it? He thought of her as an intellectual equal to him. Someone to verbally spare with and possibly loss to, which intrigued him so much more then someone he always won against, this way, he would always have to be on his toes mentally.

He laid his head back down on the pillow relaxing in the comfort that she was the only one around. A bitter nasty pang hit his heart all at once, he hadn't been this comfortable with someone since he was home... with his family. Sometimes he felt himself missing them, he would quickly shut the thoughts out though. Not because of any pride on his part, but because the grief he was never aloud to work through threatened to consume him if he let it. He knew he was a Sayian, and that to be Sayian was to be impenetrable, even emotionally, but the Sayian's were gone now, and he could do as he liked. He wondered if he could find comfort in this woman then quickly banished the thought from himself as he closed his eyes. _There is no one who could love a monster._ He told himself. _And even if they thought they could, it would never last._ He had done so many horribly things in his life, even for a member of a warrior race, warriors at least had valor and dignity. It had been many years since he had had those things.

His head turned again to look at the woman sleeping next to the bed. He had known for some time that he liked her, and felt weak that he allowed the feeling to grow. He let her do pretty much as she pleased in relation to how she treated and spoke to him. He let her get away with most everything he realized, he would of course still have arguments with her, he loved them, they made his blood quicken and his mind buzz every time. _How did it get this far? What the hell are you going to do now? Baka..._

******

Bulma hung up the receiver on the phone and smiled. Her parents wouldn't be returning for another week or so and she was very glad for this. The prince wasn't in any mood to have her mother swooning over him. The smile faded as her mind wondered back to Vegeta, he wasn't doing as well as she was expecting him to. She had wanted to call a doctor but he wouldn't hear of it, he just about screamed the house down when she suggested it. But that was the loudest and most active he had been since the accident, other then that outburst he had been... docile... he refused to eat, he barely spoke, and only managed the strength to get up and go to the bathroom. Other then that he just laid there, it had been three days... three days of a Sayian not eating was concerning to say the least.

She walked down the hallway to his bedroom, and he was still there, still in bed.

"Vegeta would you at least consider a nurse?"

"..."

"Vegeta can you hear me?" The tone this time challenging she moved to the other side of the bed and the direction he was facing.

"Yes."

"Will you give me an answer then."

"The answer is no."

"I don't know what to do with you Vegeta... would you eat something today then?" She asked growing more angry by the second.

"..."

"VEGETA!"

"What!?" He barked as his body jerked at her sudden snap. She was quite again realizing she had startled him... he was sicker then she thought... She knelt down by the bed and placed a hand on his forehead... he was hot.

Vegeta closed his eyes as her hand made contact, it felt cool and soft against his skin. He found himself enjoying the sensation more then he thought was normal.

"Vegeta... your sick... please let me call a doctor." She asked again. The thought was far worse then his body felt.

"No... I... No." Now she was really worried, his composure was beginning to break and she knew it. Bulma sat down on the edge of his bed, she began wiping the sweat off his face carefully with a cloth. She had respect for this man, he was set to keep to his choice, and that took strength in this condition... or idiocy. She wondered why she put up with it? Why did she let this jerk push her around? Insult her? Make her life a living hell? She knew the answer, she didn't want to admit it though, why admit to that? It would never work, he was indifferent to her, and she had already suffered enough with a man who didn't care back. She saw something in him though... something... comforting. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it felt like he was meant to always be in the background, always near to her. She actually worried when he wasn't, lately she had even found herself feeling vulnerable if she looked over her shoulder and he wasn't there, watching over her. She felt herself again, wanting to know more about him, she knew so little, he hid so much from the world. A little voice in her head began to speak, and it told her, although morally wrong... he was rather susceptible at the present moment...

"What would they do Vegeta... if we were on your planet?"

"..."

"Did they have hospitals?"

"Of course they did... what the hell do you think of Sayian's?"

"Did you ever go to one... when you were a child?"

"No... Royalty had private doctors... there was no need."

"Wow... Nice... and so these doctors... they would come to your palace when you were sick?"

"They lived there..."

"Couldn't imagine sharing a house with my doctor..."

"Is was a compound... like a minute city in itself, I never really saw them actually..."

"Did you have your own room?"

"Of course you twit... a wing... I shared it with my mother."

"Were you an only child?"

"Yes."

"That must have been lonely."

"I had a lot of cousins." With this she decided to leave it, she figured if she left it on a good note he might be more open to starting it again... at least she hoped.

*******

"Ring... Ring... Ring... Hello?"

"Chi Chi it's Bulma... are you alone?"

"Hi Bulma, why are you whispering? Are you okay?"

"Yeah yeah I'm fine, are you alone?"

"Umm... yes... whats wrong?"

"Chi chi, you have to swear on your life you will never repeat anything I am about to tell you."

"Okay Bulma yes I swear now tell me whats the matter?"

"Your the only one who might be able to help me with this... Vegeta's gone and hurt himself and although it's not that bad he's not getting any better. He won't eat, won't train, he won't even get out of his bed!"

"Oh... Well how hurt?"

"A few broken bones and a cut in his side, he has a temperature but nothing seems to be infected... I just don't know what to do Chi chi..."

"Okay, you see Bulma it's a Sayian thing. When there out there in battle their the big tough never suffering men everyone usually see's. But when they are safe, like at home, they seem to just shut down and rest to do their healing, don't worry about the fever and not eating, he'll come out of that after awhile, mine always does. Rest is what I would prescribe."

"Oh thank god... I was beginning to wonder... phew! Thanks Chi chi your a life saver!"

"No problem! Call me anytime, I'm pretty much an expert on this stuff now!"

"Okay talk to ya latter!"

"Bye Bulma!"

"Click..."

Bulma let out a sigh she felt like she had been holding for days. She sat there on the couch for a moment enjoying the lifting feeling from her shoulders and thinking over what her friend had told her. _Vegeta must feel safe here... He must be comfortable here... I wonder how long it has been since he's been comfortable. _She hoisted herself up from the couch, she felt the tiredness in her body now. She hadn't been getting much sleep thinking about Vegeta, and now she felt it. Yawning she walked into his room and he was there, turned with his back to the door. Walking around she discovered he was awake, as he slowly opened his eyes for a moment to look at her, then shut them again.

"Feel any better?" She asked knowing he hated the question, but she was feeling less sympathetic now.

"What the hell do you think?" He grunted eyes closed.

"Well I think you should just try to get some proper sleep, I know that's what I'm going to do." She replied yawning again. He opened his eyes again to look at her.

"You look like shit." He stated bluntly. Bulma stood shocked, was he initiating a conversation?

"Yeah... I feel like it too." She said sitting down in the chair, wondering if he would continue.

"Women are such frail weak beings... it's a wonder your sex didn't die out eons ago."

"This coming from the man who hasn't gotten out of bed for three days?"

"..."

"Your right though... We are rather frail, some of us anyway, but we make up for it in other ways."

"Doesn't it worry you that you can't protect yourself?"

"Sometimes... but... that's what men are for." She said rather too thoughtfully.

"Like I said, if your worried you should arm yourself at least."

"I didn't say I was worried."

"You have no man." He stated coldly. Bulma felt the sudden urge to just say what was on her mind, she had no idea why, she just felt like it, and then it popped out.

"I have you... until you leave that is... and that's protection enough for anyone" She whispered and stood leaving the room. Vegeta lay there half stunned half confused. _Did she just say she has me?_ A frown formed on his brow. _This has to stop..._


	2. Chapter 2

Bulma knew that she had stepped over some invisible border that night, she knew it before she did it, and she most certainly knew it now. He had been the most unbearable jerk off since those few truthful words had slipped from her lips. The silent treaty between them seemed to be no more, somehow, with her admission, the trust between them had seemed to have come undone.

"Woman! If you must be so fucking annoying would you at least do it somewhere else! I don't need your help and have no need for what little if any assistance you could possibly give to me! Now get the fuck out and mind your own business." The hoarse and disgruntled Sayian barked. She had slammed the door halfway through his rant, but he finished it anyway, loud enough for her to hear through the door.

"Fine you overgrown monkey! Suit yourself! Just don't come looking for me when you want something or you'll be in for a surprise!" Flushed and tired of the whole situation Bulma stalked off to try and do some work. _Asshole... What an ungrateful jerk..._ Somehow though, she understood his discomfort with her.

She was happy to spend the rest of the day in her laboratory, with Vegeta sick she was actually catching up with everything. It was amazing how much work she put off on a day to day basis because of fixing those stupid little bots. Why did she put such a priority on them? Of course she knew the answer, but still tried to deny the truth, telling herself it was to keep him quite and off her back, and not because she knew they were important to him.

The house was so lonely without her parents there, Vegeta had no notion of getting up and annoying her, so really she was all alone in the compound. There were no staff, they were all off while her father was away, it was the only time they got off actually. She spent the day humming to herself trying to pretend the growing feeling of isolation was not getting to her. Vegeta had been a blowhole the whole day before and today, and with no one at all to talk to she was beginning to over think a lot of things.

********

The proud Sayian lay in his bed nearly steaming with rage at the fact he was indeed just laying there. Every time he felt like getting up his body screamed to rest again. But this was no rest, this was just making him crazy. He only slept for minutes at a time here and there, his brain on overdrive. _The very second I am able to stand I must get away from here... find a place to train in peace... huh... peace..._ He nearly scoffed at himself out loud at the thought of finding peace for himself. He knew that where he was now was the closest thing to peace he had ever had, and probably ever will have again. He closed his eyes again trying to pretend he was going to fall into that elusive slumber his body yearned for.

********

Her eyes strained and she gave a long yawn at her desk, looking up at the clock she jolted to see the hands at midnight. She looked down at her watch to confirm the time not quite believing it.

"Wow..." She muttered standing and stretching. The Onna made her way back, walking briskly through the grounds to get to the house. She hated this walk at night... especially this late, and with no one in the kitchen there was no light at all making her way to the building. She unconsciously sped her walk up becoming increasingly uncomfortable in the dark. She opened the door and slid inside quickly closing it behind her and locking it. She was on edge, and gave a halfhearted chuckle to herself. _Pull yourself together you fool, your too old to be afraid of the dark._ To prove this to herself she didn't turn on the lights as she made her way to her room. She undressed and slid onto her long night shirt and crawled under her covers, fully intent to go to sleep. Closing her eyes she gave a sigh and snuggled deeper into the bed.

"Tap..." Bulma's eyes shot open and instantly her heart pounded in her ears. She sat up looking around the dark room. Nothing seemed to be off, nothing odd or unusual. She had no idea which direction the noise had come from. _Steady girl... steady..._ She lay back down, eyes open, at the ready.

"T t t tap..." She was sat upright instantly scanning the room. Nothing... _Okay... it's okay... the wind... could be the wind..._

"Tap..." Her head shot in the direction of the noise this time... the opposite side of the room from her window. _Okay... could be wind inside the house... yeah... and pigs could be flying this very second overhead... _ She had no control over her body, autopilot took over. It was as if some animalistic power welled up somewhere in her and took over the driver seat of her body.

Vegeta's eyes shot open with the speed his door did, the noise of the door hitting the wall as it slammed open must have been heard all over the compound. He was amazed at her speed, he had no idea she could move that fast. He was about to scream his head off but stopped himself when she suddenly and swiftly shot under the covers of his bed. Again he opened his mouth to speak but the words never came as he felt the thumping of her heart and shaking of her body now that she was so near to him. He turned his head looking at the door, he could see nothing, no intruder or beast. He heard nothing, smelt nothing, sensed nothing, just air. Looking back down to the quivering lump that was the woman he paused in thought. She was terrified, and he somehow felt a swell of pride that she had come to him.

"Whats... wrong?" He uttered absolutely lost for words.

"I... I heard something in my room... somethings in my room..." She whispered feelings of embarrassment lost to abject fear. Vegeta turned his head in the direction of her room, he sensed nothing, not even the weak Ki of an animal or insect.

"Whatever it is it isn't alive..." He stated his voice bordering on a soft tone. Her shaking was steady even with the deceleration of safety. "Do you... want me to check?" He asked finding he could not yell at her. She was so confused, why had she come in here? This was such a bad idea... The comfort of another person made her heart ache, how she had suffered when she had broken up with Yamcha. The worst part was having no one to hold at night. Oh how she loved the feeling, warmth, protection, peace...

"Vegeta... could... I..." She trailed off discovering she didn't have the strength to ask. Vegeta though had finished the sentence in his head. _No... bad idea... very bad idea... but... if you send her away, she'll only come running back the next time she hears anything... and that would be annoying. Yes annoying, and troublesome... it would be less annoying if she stays and is quite, yeah, this is the better option._ Mental argument settled he looked down at her, he had known she was of a silly girlish disposition but also understood for her to have ran to him the way she had was extreme to say the least.

"Only if you stay on that side... far on that side... and don't move... or snore... and none of your stupid questions..." He couldn't believe he was agreeing to this, it was so undignified, what if anyone found them? _She probably didn't hear anything at all, this is a trap, a ploy... I can't do this... tomorrow, I'll leave tomorrow, before this gets out of hand._

Meanwhile as he thought Bulma swiftly scooted to the far side of the bed and turned facing away from him. It was a good thing there were no lights on, her face was beet red and she nearly wanted to cry with the embarrassment she had just caused herself. What the hell was she thinking?

********

Dawn broke over the white domes of CCorp. The air around the compound seemed lighter then usual, and the day looked to be a nice one. Bulma opened her eyes, and for just a second, wondered where she was, but quickly remembered last nights events. Trying not to even breath she turned as lightly as she could to look to the other side of the bed. It was empty, the Sayian not there or anywhere in the room for that fact. It was only then she heard the hum of the shower from his bathroom. She quietly got up and exited the room, leaving him to his privacy.

Entering her bedroom she couldn't believe how stupid she had been, now that the sun was out and her fear gone. _Your such a baby... _She told herself as she walked across her room.

She felt it rise within her, how she did not know, but as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end she knew that something was very wrong. Her head slowly turned towards the wall, the same place the noise had emerged from.

*******

Vegeta felt like he was on fire, he could not believe how well he had slept, he guessed it had been years since he had actually fallen properly asleep instead of just cat napping. Stepping out of the shower he dried and dressed himself. He had heard Bulma leave while he was showering and so was quite surprised to find the Onna back in his room sitting on the end of his bed. The second he saw her face he knew something was wrong. He waited for her to speak, but nothing ever came, she was silent, it was a first. She shifted nervously twisting her hands around each other, seemingly looking for a sentence or two.

"Woman..." He trailed off as she stood and approached him. His breath caught in his throat as she grasped his hand, and began to lead him out of the room by it. He followed her, knowing that this had to be a good one. She drew him into her room and stopped just in the doorway. Still no words came as she pointed across to the other side. He walked in alone, sensing nothing within the room. He was about to ask what the hell was she playing at when he heard it.

"Tap..." Vegeta's head shot in the direction of the noise. It had come from her dresser, the third drawer down, his delicate ears could pinpoint it exactly. Walking the few strides over he cracked open the drawer peeking in. A small tendril of silver whipped out of the crack and with a needle like end shot for his hand. It was nowhere near quick enough for him though, as he casually moved his hand out of the way he slid the drawer shut again.

"What is it?" The squeak from the doorway drew his attention back to Bulma. He looked from her to the dresser, and with a frown back again.

"Close the door." He grunted. Without question the Onna backed up closing the door as she went. She heard the drawer slide open again and a small metallic crunch. She jolted as the door was opened by Vegeta, who was now holding a small silver object. He held it out to her as she looked it over. It was like a lizard, it's tail sharp and long, it was made of some kind of metal, it's head had been crushed, presumably by the Prince.

"What the hell is that?" She asked racking her brain for a memory of ever seeing something like it.

"Your the scientist..." With that, he handed the thing to her, and walked back into her room. She watched as he opened every drawer in her room, her closet, and her bathroom. Satisfied it was the only one he said nothing as he walked past leaving her there.

Once dressed Bulma took the little lizard down to her laboratory for further inspection, she could hear the pounding of Vegeta doing something athletic in the gym and felt relieved that he was feeling better. She knew it was only a matter of time before he would holler at her about fixing the Gravity Chamber. That could wait though, her little friend could not. She sat down and set to work, slowly dissecting the creature piece by piece.

Vegeta stretched himself as he began sets of pushups and one-handed press-ups. He had scoured her laboratory for anymore devices before he'd escaped into the gym to think. He knew well what the little silver creature was, and what it was meant to do. But that still did not answer the question of who and why was someone trying to kill her, and what was he going to do about it. _I'll fix this... and then leave... I will leave... I must leave..._


	3. Chapter 3

The work table was covered in small trays, each containing a piece or two of Bulma's little friend. Everything was orderly and methodical in the preservation and analysis of the intruder. Bulma on the other had, was anything but controlled. She stood pacing the length of the table, a machine in the room flashed a reading over and over and over again. The woman walked back and forth, a hand on her mouth her brow furrowed deep in thought. _Poison, poison, poison, poison... poison... poison..._ Getting nowhere in her head she paused looking at the flashing words, only to fall back into the pacing once again. Sure, this wasn't the first time, even the second time some fool had tried to assassinate either her or her father. She figured it had to do with that, why else? It couldn't have been for Vegeta, only an idiot would think that would work, it had to be for her. It had to be over CCorp... that was the only explanation... if any. It had gotten so close... It was in her bedroom! Feeling a sudden wave of nausea she slumped into her chair. The number of competing companies was endless, but the number that could produce this little guy was non existent. He was beautiful, truthfully a work of art, in her eye anyway. He was so intricate it was obvious whomever made him really both knew what they were doing, and loved what they did. This scared her even more, passion was a scary thing, passion for weapons was no different then the passion she put into her inventions.

Vegeta watched silently as the woman wracked her brain, her unease making it clear she had discovered what he had known right away. He thought about speaking to her, but the Sayian in him got the upper hand and he withdrew from the room. He didn't need her help to find the culprit and kill him. Once that was finished he could be on his way.

********

Vegeta appeared in the kitchen at the normal time for his dinner only to find it empty, of both food and woman. Angry that she seemed to be slacking he began systematical searching the house for her. He knew she had spent most of the day in her lab but surly she wasn't still there... was she? He entered the door not bothering to sneak in as usual. This drew her attention to him immediately.

"Before you say anything food is on the way. It should be her in about twenty minutes... deal with it." She stated colder then he had expected. She went back to the typing she was doing, the screen flashing in front of her rapidly.

"What the hell are you doing? Surely your not still dissecting that thing?" He asked perplexed by the length of time she had been in the lab.

"Don't play stupid with me Sayian... you knew well what this was and you said nothing, you might think I am some stupid little girl that builds your play toys but you have no idea what I can do." The words slid off her tongue like a snake hissing. Vegeta was slightly taken aback by her sudden change of attitude. She obviously was up for fighting again, and he was no longer laying down.

"Be very careful taking that tone with me woman, remember that it wasn't me who came running for your covers last night." He barked back. Bulma winced, oops, well there's a point if she ever heard one. She knew that would come back to bite her in the ass.

"Oh shut up... and get out, I'm busy. You might not give a damn but I want to live a bit longer still, and once I find this piece of shit I've got a bit of a surprise for him or her." Vegeta mulled over her statement.

"Don't be stupid woman, find them and inform me when you do, I'll take care of the rest." With that he turned and left her to finish her work. Her eyes followed him as he rounded the corner. _Is he actually offering to help me? Whoa... don't get carried away there girl, he probably is just pissed the thing got into the house without him knowing..._ Her thought disregarded she turned back to her screen. She hadn't quite worked out the metal yet, she was sure this was the key to it though. Rare metals like this one were very easy to pinpoint the location of, so far though, she had come up with nothing.

As her search went on, she eventually gave up looking for the source on earth, instead finding that the molecular break down of this particular creature was very similar to a rock she had acquired from one of her many trips into space. She knew the general location, general being the keyword there. She figured if she finished off the V1 she could get there in about two weeks. It would only take a few days to complete that ship, she had been hiding it from Vegeta at the Southern plant. It was meant to be a birthday present. Her father had started it before she could stop him, and eventually she found herself helping him. She loved her father that way, he had this idea that everyone wanted a spaceship for one reason or another.

The V1 had become a secret obsession of hers though, it was the latest in everything, with no corners cut or half arsed workmanship. She had fallen in love with the ship and found herself growing unable to give it away, his birthday was still two months off though, so it was hers for the moment. How would she get away though? He would surly find out she had left the planet, but she couldn't let him on that ship. Her heart ached thinking about it, he would break everything...

********

Vegeta listened to the Onna make her way up the stairs slowly, down the hall, and pause at the entrance to her room. The pause went on for much too long, and eventually the footsteps approached his door, another pause. They returned again to her room, and back again to his. Now this... was annoying...

"Woman! Stop pacing! Your making a racket!" He barked at the closed door, loud enough for her to hear. His door opened and closed quickly as a shadowed shape slipped in. It made its way across the room and slid gingerly into the bed not ever uttering a word. Vegeta listened as she shifted around getting comfortable and finally settled, letting out a muffled sigh. He closed his eyes and rolled facing away from her. _Anything is better then that pacing..._ He told himself.

********

Vegeta sat meditating in 'his' gym, thoughts of the last few days filtering through his head like a TV channel. He was concerned as of late that she had done no repairs on the gravity chamber... he was beginning to worry that she had forgotten about it all together. He had mentioned her lack of attention to it that afternoon but she got rather quite and told him to keep his pants on, since those few hours all she had done was sit at her computer screen typing away in code that he could not understand. He was losing time, he hated sitting around doing nothing, feeling his strength slipping away.

"Vegeta." His eyes shot open, but he managed thank the gods not to jump, she was right in front of him, how the hell did she get that close to him?!

"Can't you see I'm busy woman!" He shouted sneering at her. She made no attempt at an apology.

"Oh give it over tough guy. You asked me to tell you when I've found the jerks who sent that assassination bot, I haven't found them but I know where to look. I will be frank with you... It involves a two week trip in a small spaceship with me." She tried to keep her face straight at the slight lie that slid out among the truth, small was by no way a word to be used when describing the V1.

There was a lie in there, her eyes told him, but where was it? The idea of two weeks stuck in a space ship with her was not something he thought would be safe... for either of them.

"That's out of the question... I have training to do, I couldn't possible be confined to a ship." He stated without emotion. Her eyes flashed, something was up... he didn't like when she was up to something.

"Oh... okay then. I will be leaving tomorrow or the day after, mom and dad should be home by then, so you won't have to worry about feeding yourself or anything. Plus dad would be happy to fix the gravity chamber for you... it won't take him too long." She spun and left, much too quickly. _What the hell just happened? No fight... no screeching? She's doing something... something bad..._ He sat there now going over every possibility in his head about what she could be up too. He knew he should go with her, it wasn't safe... the stupid twit would probably get herself killed within days... But he also could not be contained like that, it would be like a bull in a china shop and he knew it. Shutting his eyes, he slipped back into his meditation.

*******

Vegeta slid his eyes open for a moment as she crept into the room as quietly as she could being a human. He said nothing as she walked around the bed and climbed in, shifting around until comfortable. His eyes once again slid shut as he fell into a deep sleep.

*******

Bulma was packed and ready, she seemed to be rushing, she felt like she was getting away with murder. Piling her things into the car she tried to act as cool as she could for someone who was about to steal the birthday present of a Sayian warrior. _He doesn't deserve it anyway... he won't even come and help me..._ trying to justify her actions the Onna gave one last look at the door to the house before slipping into the car and speeding off towards the Southern plant.

Vegeta finished what little training he could do without a sparring partner or gravity chamber. Without either it almost seemed pointless to attempt any sort of advancement. To add to his frustration thoughts of the woman and her plans for departure kept creeping into his mind. Why should he care though? He had no idea, concern for another was not something he was accustomed too, and he wasn't sure how to go about it. _If she gets herself killed there will be no more training tools, not that she has been making much of an effort in that regard lately anyway but still... plus... if any of 'them' find out I let her go without me... it would look like weakness... and that I cannot allow. Weeks in a ship with her though, close quarters... this is a very bad idea, I will regret this, I am sure of it. _Settling his thoughts on what seemed like the most logical conclusion he realized he really should not let her go alone, that whether she knew it or not she needed help. She was only a woman after all.

********

Bulma stepped into the crisp white ship and inhaled deeply. God how she loved that smell! A combination of fresh welding and paint aromas. She made her way to her quarters feeling a small bit of pleasure as the door slid open to reveal a clean and tidy new room. Putting her bag on the bed she sat down on the mattress looking over the room. At first she put it aside thinking it was only stress, or maybe tiredness? But no, the feeling continued to rise within her until it was apparent she was uncomfortable... How could she be? She asked herself as she looked around the masterpiece that was the V1. Making her way to the cockpit the feeling trailed her, etching into the sides of her mind, coating everything she saw and did. It was so quite, all noise seemed to be a result of movement on her part. She could even hear her own breathing... the feeling grew. She flopped into the pilot seat with a dark scowl finding it's way onto her face. _How could I be so stupid? Weeks alone in this massive ship? I'll go crazy before I pass the moon... A dog... if I bring a dog I would feel better... _New idea at hand she very happily spun in the seat every intention of leaving the ship and retrieving a canine for the duration of her trip. Her now bright and hopeful smile faded into one of complete, total shock and anger as she spun to face a Sayian standing arms crossed in the doorway.

"Vegeta?! Wh... What are you doing here?" She managed trying to rapidly think of excuses.

"Cute... cut the crap you lying wench, so where's this little ship you informed me about?" He snarled acutely aware he had nearly been duped. She was caught and she knew it, the only thing now was damage control.

"Oh shut up, you don't have any right to be mad at me buddy, you won't even come to help me! What the hell do you care!?" This was now an all out blame fest as far as she was concerned.

"I thought it over and decided you were only going to get killed in a pathetic attempt to defend yourself. It is easier for me to keep you alive then suffer through dealing with your father building my training equipment."

"Oh! Nice! Thank you very much you highness. Your so chivalrous it's hard to believe that you would take pity on a lowly servant like me."

"How dare you!" The Sayian snarled as he made a motion forward, Bulma watched as his eyes flashed for a moment and paused. Vegeta was shocked... any other soul on the planted would have at least flinched at the threat of aggression, but she stood, unmoved in front of him. _She's not afraid of me..._ "Why did you deceive me?" He snapped fuming. Bulma mulled over more lies in her head, but thought there was no point, why should she hide from the jerk?

"Because this ship is brand new... and your a thug." The statement came simply and honestly from her viewpoint. Vegeta starred at her, and decided she was telling the truth. This somehow relieved him, she hadn't lied to him for any sort of a concerning reason, just a stupid one.

"Don't ever let me catch you lying to me again... about anything... or I will blast you clear of this planet before you can think." This statement he knew was half pointless, she was unafraid of him. Why he did not know, but he made a mental note to locate the cause at a later date. In the meantime, he wanted a look at this ship, it appeared to be very impressive indeed, even by his standards. "What the hell did you build this thing for?" He asked flashing his eyes around the room. Bulma sighed, it would only be a matter of time before her father opened his big mouth, and she really couldn't trust him not to.

"You... baka..." With this sinking admission she flopped back down into the chair, depressed that she had only had control of the ship for a few fleeting moments. Vegeta's eyes widened as they snapped back to her.

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Dad and I built it for you... for your birthday..." This struck him speechless. She glanced up at him but was to upset in her own misery to take advantage of him. Vegeta took a new look around the room, a slow feeling of authority coming over him.

"So you thought you would not only lie to me about this but also slip it out from under my nose?"

"Oh shut up Vegeta..." The Sayian gave a laugh at her. He had some emotion unfamiliar to him welling up, but without a name he ignored it.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this size of a ship anyway?" He asked genuinely confused. Bulma's head dropped into her hands as she made a groan of disappointment. After a moment she hoisted herself off of the seat and walked through the doorway, the Sayian in tow. They passed through corridors and hatches for a few minutes before she finally paused at a closed one. Turning she looked at him.

"It had to be big enough to hold this." She said as she pressed the panel to open the door. Vegeta stepped in, looking around to discover a gravity chamber, twice the size of the one he used at Ccorp.


	4. Chapter 4

"What the hell woman!?" He shouted unsure of how to continue. "What the bloody hell?!" was all that seemed to be able to come out.

"I know I know... now shut up." She replied, giving up trying to recover any ground with him. His mind shot rapidly back and forth.

"How can I even use this in space? Surly the risk of blowing it sky high is too great." At this though Bulma smiled slightly, a smugness finding its way into her.

"What the hell do you take me for? An imbecile?" She asked. She walked over to the white tiled walls of the chamber. "I overcame that contingency before I even considered adding this to the ship." She ran her hand over the tiles. "I realized that the walls had to absorb the energy, deflecting it would never do, Sayian's are too powerful to rely on something deflecting or withstanding their energy attacks. The only material strong enough to absorb the attacks without fail was the walls of the Time Chamber. So I analyzed them and replicated them, it is those tiles that cover the inside of this chamber." Bulma spoke with a sense of true unbridled passion that surprised Vegeta.

"Clever woman... I must admit." He said, his respect for her increasing, plus he liked the fact she had called Sayian's powerful. There was a moment of silence as the two found themselves not knowing what to say to the other. The situation was such that they both knew they could not overly criticize the other, leaving them with little to discuss.

"So I take it your coming with me then?" She asked, the thought of her precocious ship breaking apart looming in her imagination.

"Well now I really must, if this is going with you. I have training to do woman, and it is not something that I am willing to wait weeks to continue while your off prancing around the solar system." He stated, finding that this was both a reason and excuse.

"Right... well then, I'm going to go start the launch sequence... guess I don't need a dog now..." She told him as she walked away, the last part being whispered under her breath. Vegeta heard it, but not understanding the relevance chose to ignore the statement.

*******

Liftoff went smoothly, she was glad. It was at this time any flaws usually became extremely apparent, but the ship seemed to be in good. order. Vegeta wasted no time diving straight into his training after touring the ship. Bulma engaged the auto pilot and sunk right into upgrading a few components in the engine room. She could have waited and done this more easily on earth she knew, but this gave her something to do on the trip she figured.

Thoroughly pleased although he would never admit it, Vegeta was actually having a bit of fun in the gravity chamber. He could toss attacks at the bots without worrying about the blasts hitting the walls. He ducked and dived finding the extra room required a lot more exertion to maneuver, and this was perfect as far as he was concerned. _It's amazing she was able to keep this a secret from me... I wonder if there are any more secrets she has..._ He didn't care about letting his mind slip back to her now, he was training, and as long as he didn't slip up, he was happy.

*******

Vegeta had returned to training after dinner, and continued for many hours before retiring to his room. After a quick shower the Prince switched off his lights and got into his bed, feeling a sense of familiarity to sleeping in space that he had missed when on earth. Closing his eyes, he drifted into a light and comfortable sleep.

The sound of movement woke him, he glanced at the clock next to his bed, he had been asleep for three hours. His door slid open and shut with a light hiss that all the doors gave off when being used. Moments later he felt the bed shift and weight push down on the side of the mattress. He rolled to turn away from her as she wiggled down into the covers. _At least she tried for a few hours first... she will have to stop this though..._ He told himself as he drifted off to sleep again.

*******

Morning found Bulma waking to an empty bed, as the Sayian had already gone to train for the day. She rose and made her way back to her room to change. _Why do I keep doing that?_ She scolded herself. At night it always felt justified, but in the morning seemed unreasonable and stupid to crawl into his bed. She figured no one knew though, and he would never tell a soul so her secret was safe. After dressing the woman made her way the the kitchen of the ship, entering it to the slight surprise of the awaiting Vegeta.

"About time... I want breakfast... hurry up." He snarled looking rather smug. Bulma ignored him moving instantly to the coffee maker.

"Yeah yeah yeah..." She muttered as she switched it on. Once it was done she poured herself a cup of it and began making eggs and bacon... a lot of it. She served it up on plates to the Prince and kept a small bit back for herself as she sat down on the opposite side of the table. He ate with a speed that would make any human sick. She on the other hand took single bite after bite watching him as she did. "Is the gravity chamber to your liking?" She asked slowly. Vegeta's eyes shot up to hers, locking on them for a moment before shifting down again to his food.

"It is satisfactory, yes."

"Just satisfactory?"

"Yes."

"Thanks... do you realize how much work I put into that thing?"

"What do you want an award?"

"A simple thank you would be enough."

"Your looking in the wrong place if you want that."

"Why? Why is it so hard for you to show that small amount of appreciation?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because Vegeta... I love what I do, my machines are like pets to me... and I hate to see them go to bad owners who don't give two shits about them."

"What then... you want me to pet it or something?"

"Vegeta! I just want you to give a shit!"

"Fine! I give a shit! It's an exemplary machine... it was a brilliant invention... I don't see how voicing the obvious is necessary!" He snapped annoyed by her attacks. Bulma paused in thought, she knew better then to smile at the slight praise he had just given her.

"It may not seem necessary to you baka but I like hearing occasionally that I did a good job. I don't do this for money, I don't do it for fame, I don't do it for power... I do what I do to help the people I care about... and their appreciation is the only thing I get back. I know it sounds stupid, but that's the truth." She finished, realizing that the truth was something she hadn't thought too much about. Vegeta then slipped, the thought appeared in his head and slid past his lips before he even considered the outcome.

"If you only do this for the people you care about then why build things for me?" Bulma was stunned, he had just trapped her between a rock and a hard place and she was wavering which way to go.

"I..." She began before a high pitched buzzing interrupted her. She immediately stood and left the room heading for the front deck of the ship. Moments later she stood in it looking over the controls with deadly calm. Nothing to panic about, asteroid in the flight path, a quick recalculation and they were on there way again. She stood silently in the room looking out over the space in front of them, the stars, the planets, moons and emptiness. How had she reached this point in her life? Was this really all she had? Her inventions? She had no boyfriend, no children, not even a real pet, only her parents and her machines. _How sad am I?_ She thought to herself. Here she was, stuck in a ship with an asshole, hurtling away from her planet and any sense of familiar or comfortable she had.

*******

Vegeta lay in his bed unable to sleep, his ears pricked unconsciously waiting for the sound of her. Not too long later came the sound of the door sliding open, and then shut again. He felt her silently slip into the bed and shift around until she settled. He lay there, feeling the heat of her body slowly make it's way across the bed, warming his skin. The feeling sent his mind flashing thoughts that he wouldn't admit even to himself. He breathed in deeply, enjoying her scent and closing his eyes to try his best to fall asleep quickly. No such luck... he lay there for much too long listening to the sound of her breathing, until it slowed into the deep breathing that signaled she had fallen asleep. After waiting a few minutes, and against his better judgment he slowly shifted to face her. He wasn't surprised to find her facing him as well, she commonly turned once asleep, that he knew now. His sensitive eyes picked up her features in the dark of his room. His eyes traced the soft curves and details of her sleeping face, she was much calmer looking when asleep he noticed, much more relaxed. He wondered if his face did the same thing... he hoped not... But she was quite attractive in this state he allowed himself to think, but swore it was only an observation, nothing more... _Close your eyes and go to sleep... now..._ His mind screamed as he stared at her._ For god sake man! Pull yourself together! She's just a woman! _

_ *******_

Bulma reached in between two steel pipes and past a few wires, in her hand were a pair of pliers. She reached in until her shoulder would no longer allow it, thankfully at this point she could reach the faulty circuit. She latched the pliers onto the small square object and began to pull. It was stuck, she gave another tug, it didn't move. She growled in frustration, if she were at home she would just dismantle the encasing frame to get at it, but she couldn't do that when they were in space, it could compromise the surrounding structure. The circuit wasn't giving, she thought for a moment to get Vegeta, but she refused to lower herself to that. She shifted her weight pulling hard on it, she was angry now, it was coming off or she was destroying it, one or the other. She slid one foot onto the wall pushing away, this was shortly followed by the other foot, so now she was standing sideways pushing against the wall with both feet. She let a roar out as the circuit came loose,_ Ha-ha! Gotcha ya little bastard! _Her mind triumphed, and a split second later went blank.

*******

The Sayian shifted again in his bed, rolling once more to look at the clock. Midnight... the Onna was not there... He closed his eyes but knew he would not sleep. How long did he expect her to keep it up? Forever? Ha! _Just go to bed you fool... don't be an idiot._ At this he tried to sleep, one hour painfully slipped by before he found himself checking the time every five minutes or so._ Where is she?!_ His brain screamed at him. _Why do you care?!_ The other half shouted back. Another ten minutes crawled by, he found himself counting seconds in his head. With a roar of frustration and anger that he had given in the Sayian rolled out of bed and left the room swiftly. He walked to her bedroom telling himself he would just peek, and then go beck to bed. The door slid open and his eyes locked onto her bed, which stood made and empty across the room. _Damn... woman..._

He had checked just about everywhere he knew of, the rooms were still slightly unfamiliar to him though. He walked into a smallish room next to the main engine room to find it's lights were still on. His nose instantly picked up the odor of blood tinting the air. He walked in looking around, the rooms walls were covered in wires and circuits, little lights and switches, and was shaped like an 'L'. He rounded the corner to discover the whereabouts of the Onna. There she lay, in crumpled heap on the floor, dried blood marked a protruding metal bolt on the wall above where she lay. He quickly moved over to her and knelt above her, his heart pounded in his chest as his eyes scanned her limp body. _Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit..._ Was the seemly endless chant that echoed in his head. His arms unconsciously scooped her up off the floor, and he held her while determining the extent of the damage. She was breathing, her heart was beating, these two facts alone lessened the pounding of his heart in his chest. He located the source of blood as being the back of her head, and figured that somehow, the stupid woman had slipped and hit her head on the bolt. _Stupid clumsy woman._ Luckily for him, he had seen enough injuries in his life to know that she was alright, concussed, but would live. He stood up lifting her with him, and proceeded to make his way to his quarters. At the movement the Onna began to slip in and out of both sanity and consciousness.

"I have got to fix the stability matrix on this ship... we might as well be on a boat... rocking back... and forth... and back... and back... and forth..." Her voice burbled as she misinterpreted the motion of being carried. Vegeta smirked despite himself.

"Yes you would, and while your at it you could try and make the training facilities more sufficient." He told her finding that he was unable to control himself from playing with her.

"Really? Okay... but... I've done my best..." She whimpered beginning to squirm in his arms.

"Settle woman... forget what I said." He told her realizing she was too confused for sarcasm. Bulma fell halfway out of consciousness again as he propped her on the counter in his bathroom wetting a cloth. He did his best to clean the blood off the back of her head, but her hair got in the way. There wasn't much so he decided to leave it until she took a shower. He brought her to his bed and lay her down in it on 'her' side. Moving around to his own side he climbed in being careful not to pull all the blankets away from her. _You should have put her in her own bed._ His logical side told scolded him.

"Vegeta?" Her voice whispered in the dark.

"What."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Oh..." She sighed shifting slightly. Vegeta stared at her in the shadowed room. His mind flashed over and over with things that it then told him were fair play. He knew she wasn't going to remember these little communications... and if she did they would be fuzzy. His curiosity overtook him.

"Why do you let me stay in your home Onna?" There was a long silence, and he thought she had gone to sleep, but then came the reply in a half dazed burble.

"Because you don't have anywhere else to go... I didn't... I couldn't just turn you away."

"So it was out of pity then?"

"No... well... What?"

"Did you take me in out of pity?"

"No... maybe at first a little... but now I really kinda like having you around."

"How could you possibly enjoy my company?"

"I don't know... You just seem to understand me a lot better then most people... and I can talk to you without having to worry about what I say... most of the time that is."

"I wasn't aware our conversations were that interesting to you."

"They are... more then you could ever know really."

"What does that mean?"

"I like you Vegeta... But it could never end up working between us... so don't think I'm going to jump you or anything." She laughed lightly as she spoke. He laid there not shocked or in awe, he had guessed these feelings were present not too long ago. This just confirmed his suspicions.

"Go to bed now Onna."

"What?"

"Go to sleep."

"Oh..."

_Finish this mission... and leave... as quickly as possible._


	5. Chapter 5

Vegeta stirred in his sleep, his mind slowly coming around to the fact that something was making noise in his room. He woke to discover that the Onna was moaning next to him, he rolled to look at her. She lay there hand on her head whimpering.

"What the hell is wrong with you woman?" He asked confused. Bulma started slightly at his voice.

"My head..." She whispered. Vegeta sat up looking down at her.

"You hit your head..." He spoke thinking she was a little stupid as well as weak. He only realized then that he hadn't given a thought to the fact she was human and not Sayian.

"I think... I'm gonna puke... or something..." She said her voice getting louder and pushing herself up to sit. She then swung her legs off the edge of the bed prepared to stand, but just before she stood she felt a hand gently take hold of her shoulder. She paused looking over the shoulder to find it was indeed Vegeta holding her to the bed.

"Don't stand... you'll only flail around in the dark anyway..." With that he stood and made his way out of his room. She sat on the edge of the bed her head pounding so hard she thought she might be sick. She couldn't remember what had happened, but remembered the lead up, and was smart enough to guess the rest. Vegeta entered the room again moving around to her, he sat down next to her. Bulma's head swam and she wasn't fully aware of the fact Vegeta was doing anything.

The Sayian filled the syringe to the point that was safe for her body weight. He lifted her arm and pushed the needle into it swiftly before she had a chance to protest.

"Ow! You Jerk!... Bastard!" By now tears were streaming down her face from the pain in her head. Vegeta ignored the insults placing the medicine on the bedside table. "What the hell are you doing?!" She screamed at him hitting his shoulder as hard as she could. Vegeta held in the laugh he felt coming at the weakness of the woman, he wouldn't have even known she had hit him if he hadn't actually been looking when she did.

"Stop it woman, your making a fool of yourself." He told her smirking. Bulma's face went from pain to anger as the challenge was set up. She opened her mouth to start the barrage of insults but closed it again slowly. Vegeta watched as the lids of her eyes drooped slightly, her body beginning the sway a little. "Sleep now Onna." He said as the sedative took hold of her. Bulma gave in to the feeling, falling to the side into surprisingly enough, awaiting arms. She lay there, looking up into his eyes as he held her there, looking down.

"Vegeta..." She whispered the blackness beginning to creep into the sides of her mind.

"Yes Onna?"

"Do you... ever wonder... what it would be like if we didn't... hate each other so much?" Vegeta paused at this, she was slipping away as he watched her. Her eye's closed as sleep took her finally, he waited still another moment just to be safe.

"Yes Onna... I do..."

*******

Morning assailed her like a sudden and harsh ambush on her senses. She sat up to find she was alone in the Princes room, her mind was mush. She reached back to find she couldn't even touch the back of her head due to the soreness of it. _What the hell happened!? _Her brain screamed over the pain, she could barely think. Suddenly she gasped _Did he hit me?! Oh God! He attacked me! That bastard! _She swung her legs off the bed fumbling around, it was now she caught sight of the needle and bottle on the bedside table. _Oh my god! He drugged me! Oh my god!_ Her entire body went into over drive. She stood on shaky legs and made her way across the room. Just then the bathroom door slid open to reveal the Sayian wearing only a towel, he stepped towards her before pausing when his gaze came up to find her standing in the middle of the room. Bulma's eyes shot from his to the towel and then rolled to the back of her head.

"And he's not wearing any clothes! Oh my god! What did he do!? What did he do?!" She screamed as her legs gave out beneath her with shock. The man caught her before she hit the floor.

"Who the hell are you talking to?" He asked her thinking that maybe she had sustained some sort of brain injury. As she half stood there crumpled in his arms memories assailed her, in short sporadic flashes, and after a moments silence she had most of the nights events straight in her head. Realizing she had nearly accused him of rape, a sudden humiliation over took her as the feeling of his bare chest on her forehead became very apparent. She quickly stood again straightening herself and clearing her throat.

"No one... what are you talking about?" She chirped and swiftly left the room before he could answer her, not that he had anything to say back that was. Vegeta stood there, mouth open in complete shock. _I will never attempt... to ever understand the inner workings of that woman's brain..._

*******

Bulma was glad the Sayian had not asked her to explain herself, he seemed happy enough to have forgotten the events of the past twelve hours. She on the other hand had the throbbing of her head as a steady reminder. She sat at the helm of the ship eyes fixed on a computer screen. They were getting closer, the particles of space rocks in this area were matching the metal closely. She knew that in space though, things could travel so far from their source that you might never find it, so this was really a shot in the dark. Suddenly a green light flashed up on the screen.

"100% match." Droned an automated voice. Bulma's fingers worked quickly, typing out her orders 'Plot trajectory and calculate origin of matter.' She then watched as the screen shot up a map and numbers swiftly flew by slowly drawing a curved line across it. The line made a few loops around some rather large nearby planets and a few suns before finally ending at an average sized planet about a day away. Then the computer zoomed in to the planet.

"AF100007 second planet of system DD11, No known inhabitants. Average temperature: -10c, Average wind speed: 0mph, Oxygen: levels 0%, Stability: Extremely unstable." The computer finished it's report. Bulma frowned.

"Computer, why is it unstable?" She asked.

"Average asteroid impact: 16 per kilometer per minute" It replied panning out the map to show how the planet's orbit sat directly in the middle of an asteroid belt.

"That doesn't make any sense then... how could anyone live there? Let alone build little fucking lizards there..."

"Possibilities: Underground... End of possibilities." Bulma sat back in her chair rocking side to side slowly thinking it over. She would never get close enough to the planet with the V1... it was too big. There was a smaller shuttle ship that she could get in there but it was risky... it wasn't designed for an asteroid impact. She mulled over how much she really wanted to throttle this little bastard... she could actually get killed doing this. But she realized quickly it was either this, or wait for the next lizard in her underwear drawer.

"Plot course and engage."

*******

Vegeta knew the ship had changed trajectory... he had guessed the Onna was zeroing in on her prey. He did rather like the way she could be so viciously determined. He threw an energy blast only to watch as the droid dodged it, disappearing from view briefly to come slamming down on his head. He also liked the fact that indirectly, through her machines, she really was a match for him, as the droid proved. She actually was beating the shit out of him from time to time with them, and that thought made him respect her a little more. Because as most know, this is not an easy thing to do. Suddenly the chamber powered down and before he had time to react he slammed forcefully into the ceiling and then dropped half dazed to the floor. He growled lifting his gaze from the ground to see her feet in front of him.

"God... I just don't know why... but that never gets old..." She sighed holding back the outright laughter.

"I will end up killing you one day... mark my words woman..."

"Yeah... but I bet before now and then I do that a good few more times to you... and getcha every time."

"Dead... you will be dead... What the hell do you want now anyway, or was that just for kicks?" He stood slowly straightening the crick the impact left in his neck. Bulma quickly went over the facts of her discovery, and the implications of an attempt to land on the planet. The Prince listened carefully to her, Bulma talked on even as the smell of fresh sweat filled her nostrils. She suddenly realized she had caught on a word, and shook her head to clear her mind. Vegeta just passed the action off of strange Onna behavior number 3001.

"Well how the hell do you plan on landing there then?" He asked realizing she was still fully intent on going. At this she smiled and winked at him.

"I have my ways... but I will need your help for part of it. Anyway... I'll let you get back to your pounding." She finished and spun leaving the room. The wink... that wink hit him hard... he found it more attractive then he thought was safe. His mind though swiftly was brought back to reality as his face met the floor hard when the machine powered up... _She even upped the power... gotta give her credit..._

_ ******_

Bulma sat again at the helm, if he knew what she was planning he wouldn't let her do it... in fact he'd be furious with her... but it was their only choice. She sighed mulling over her plan once again, she would feel better once they got close enough to scan the planet properly. She glanced over to the consul where an energy gun lay. She ran her hand over it..._ Vegeta is going to kill me..._ _ But hey... it's one or the other._

_ ******_

She crept into the silent dark room knowing full well there was no need to tip-toe, but she did anyway. Why did she keep coming to him? She had no idea... she didn't really want to know either, she had a feeling it would be bad to think about it too much. She slid into the bed sighing at the warmth she found under the covers. She shifted around a bit settling down, suddenly she froze as she felt her foot touch his, and to her shock, he didn't jerk away. She paused a moment, and then closed her eyes, leaving the contact unbroken, she found her heart throbbing at this new development. She shrugged it off in her brain though. _Don't kid yourself kid..._


	6. Chapter 6

Vegeta's eyes blinked open a few times, and then shut again as he woke. He had that feeling you get in the morning, the feeling of serenity before you remember life. He sighed rolling trying to chase the feeling before it slipped away to consciousness. The touch of her skin against his felt like a sudden and sharp burn as all sense of calmness and comfort left his body in one swift moment. His eyes shot open to find himself much much too close to the Onna, his leg pressing up against hers. He shot back in the bed, nearly falling out of it altogether. He froze realizing the sudden motion might have woken her... one breath... two... three... He was safe, she slept on. Frowning more at himself then her he slid out from beneath the covers, standing for a moment next to the bed looking down on her. _You like her... fool..._ He shook the inner voice off and headed into the bathroom to change and then swiftly departed the room to start his daily training.

Bulma stirred as the sound of the door sliding open and shut met her ears. By the time she rolled to check, he was gone. Stretching the woman slowly made herself vertical. _What the hell are you doing? Why are you in here? Well duh... you like him... idiot..._ With this she rose herself and made her way to her room. From there she got a bite to eat and headed straight to the helm to update herself on her mission.

Swinging swiftly around in the chair she munched on a bagel and studied the screen thoughtfully. The planet was now close enough for a preliminary scan, not just astronomical calculations. She looked over the new information, it was indeed smack in the middle of an asteroid belt... great. The planets rotation though was faster then she hoped, if you were to land you would have no more then 20 min before the sky started to fall, and fall it would, for 20 minutes, and then clear again, and so on as the planet turned orbiting within the belt. She let out a massive sigh leaning back in the chair deep. Her eyes fell once again on the weapon on the console.

"Well buddy... it looks like it will be just you and me..." She whispered. She set to work preparing the shuttle and checking over the schematics of the planetary surface for anything that looked like a bunker. She found nothing, meaning they would have to do a fly over until they picked up some kind of energy reading. In the middle of fiddling with a thruster on the shuttle Bulma became acutely aware of eyes burning into the back of her head.

"Can I help you with something or are you just content to stand there doing nothing..." She grumbled finding his presence uncomfortable as she worked.

"Just taking a break... letting your machine cool down... what are you doing?" Was the reply. Bulma stood motionless for a moment, she thought about looking back at him, but decided against it, he knew her too well... he would see something wrong in her yes if she looked at him now.

"The gravity chamber won't overheat... don't you dare suggest I'm that stupid... build a machine that overheats... huh..." She hoped the mock insulted ploy worked, and luckily enough for her it did as she heard him slink off out of the room. He always seemed happy enough to leave her alone once he thought he had insulted her competence enough.

She stood back looking over the shuttle, it was a fast little thing, it had that on it's side, no doubt it would be well able to handle getting through the belt and to land. But once planet bound... it was a sitting duck. _Don't let me down Vegeta..._

_ ******_

The V1 was closing in on the asteroid belt, they were within 5 hours of it's edge. Bulma decided she would program the ship to halt just outside of the belt and stay there for the night. They would go in with the shuttle in the morning, no sense in rushing into things so late in the day, one more night wouldn't hurt anyone. She sat back yawning and raising her hands above her head in a big stretch. God she hated space, so little to do, not enough to tinker with. She had gone over just about every square inch of the shuttle, only finding a thing or two to fiddle with. Mostly just wasting time throughout the day waiting for her impending doom. _Don't think like that... It'll be okay... you'll be fine._ She told herself, and smugly agreed with herself. She wanted an early start, and as they say, early to bed early to rise, so off she went. After changing into her pj's she made her way to his room, the motion seemingly robotic now. She walked in to find the bed still empty, a first, as she usually crept in late at night. She made her way across the room and slid into 'her' side of the bed. The smell of him lingered all over it, the scent filling her nostrils and despite herself she smirked. She loved that smell, whatever about the rest of the situation, she was denying it no longer, she loved the way Vegeta smelled. She shoved her face into the pillow inhaling deeply, enjoying it to her hearts content seeing as he was not here to witness it. Once she had her fill of it she nestled down and slipped comfortable into dreams.

******

Vegeta inched his way under the covers trying desperately not to wake her. She was smack in the middle of the bed! His Bed! The nerve! He growled trying to squeeze in to the small space she had left for him... why did she go to bed so early? She obviously intended to slowly claim more and more of his space... did she like his room better then hers? Was this all some elaborate plot to take it over and shove him out? Maybe she was trying to get rid of him... like some sort of sick mind game. He was in now, he folded his arms underneath his head thinking over the situation. Suddenly she was making noises... strange noises... mumbling and snorting like a small piglet... and as she did she rolled... his breath caught somewhere in his throat as she rolled up against him and settled again to sleep, her arm resting on his chest and her head nudged up against his side. _Danger... Danger... you are in danger... get up! Get up you fool! Get away! _But it was too late, she was touching him, and somehow, that soft, innocent touch, paralyzed him from head to toe. Oh my god, the feel of her skin set him on fire. He closed his eyes trying to control the feeling rising within him, soft delicate warmth, something he himself had none of, but this little Onna had in abundance. He could feel her exhaling breath on his skin and nearly let a noise slip from his lips as he realized it. This was a very very bad development, he was sure that he would go insane with the sensations and thoughts flying through his head. But then, just as suddenly as it had come, it was gone as she rolled away again mumbling in her sleep. His heart felt as though it was about to choke him, his breath was rapid and shallow as he slowly recouped from her unintended embrace. _Your in trouble... deep deep trouble... fool_

******

"Would you just get in and stop your whining! I am a fucking good pilot and you know it!" Bulma shouted down the ramp of the transport ship.

"Somehow I doubt you've had much experience at this."

"Excuse me? You have no idea what experience I have! My life didn't just begin the moment you met me ya know! I was alive before that! Doing things and going places, getting in and out of danger and trouble like the best of them! Now get in now or I'm going without you!" Vegeta rolled his eyes as he walked up the ramp. He knew he was the better pilot, but she wasn't giving in a bit with him.

"You know this technically is my ship."

"Not for another month or so buddy, now shut up and sit down." She growled back. The Sayian raised his eye brows slightly, even for her this was crabby. Something must be up, she was a brave little thing that he knew, and he was with her, so it couldn't be nerves... But everything about her said it was, she was scared, and he had no idea why. He let his mind mull it over as she started up the smaller ship and unlocked from the V1.

Once outside she headed directly into the belt at full throttle, more for the fact she didn't want this part to last any longer then necessary then to show off to the Prince. She weaved and winded her way around dodging and ducking flying rocks and asteroids as if she had done it all her life. The trip took about two hours in the smaller craft, plus they didn't exactly get to make a beeline for it. She brought the craft around to the far side of the planet where it blocked the oncoming debris. Letting out a small sigh, she relaxed a bit as she set to work scanning the rotating planet below.

It didn't take long before the sensors picked up a reading, the screen zoomed in to a cave set into the surface.

"Bingo." She chirped smiling. She engaged the ship again and steered it down onto the planet, which was not smooth to say the least. She wondered how tough the rock had to have been on this planet to withstand asteroid impacts like it did. The landing was bumpy, but the ship handled it well, there was a fair amount of gravity, slightly less then earth, so there was no need to anchor the ship down.

Vegeta on the other hand was getting itchy to smash the face in on the person they were after. As the time drew nearer he realized he was actually very concerned with killing this person. He had allowed that thing into the house, he never knew it was there... but somehow he felt responsible for the breech in security, and that bothered him.

"About time... and you are a bad driver." He stated in a low tone standing up. Bulma only glared as she handed him an oxygen mask and donned her own one.

"Get out asshole." She barked slamming the button to drop the ramp. He walked down it to find the planet was frigged, no wonder the Onna had worn so many clothes. He thought she was right behind him but when he turned she wasn't there.

"Are you coming or are you too scared?" He barked up the ramp. Just then she came trotting down the ramp.

"Yes just had to grab something." She said in a rushed voice. It was now he saw the gun strapped to her back. He paused frowning at her.

"What the hell is that for?" He asked genuinely confused.

"For me... Your staying here with the ship." She stated backing away swiftly.

"What..." He watched as she talked all the time moving away from the ship and him.

"I'm going into that cave, your staying here... you have to keep the ship from getting smashed."

"Oh no your fucking not!" He shouted taking a step towards her.

"No time Vegeta. Heads up." She stated simply pointing her finger to the sky, as she spun and ran for the cave as fast as her legs could carry her. Vegeta looked up to the sky, the planet was rotating to face into the belt. He let out a roar of anger and powered up, taking to the sky to start demolishing asteroids that threatened the ship._ She planned this... I'm going to kill her._

******

Bulma stood leaning against a wall of the cave, her chest heaved as she panted, more from the adrenaline rush then the running though. She could hear and feel the onslaught of impacts hitting the nearby surface. She turned and flashing a light on the wall squinted at the stone, she was in awe that it held up to all this, it wasn't even crumbling with all the harsh vibrations. It suddenly hit her that the rock of this planet was probably laced with the metal she discovered in that lizard. No wonder it was so strong, it measured off the scale in her lab during a stress test. She looked away from the stone pointing the flash light down the tunnel.

"Right... Okay you asshole, you messed with the wrong woman." She stated strongly, and pulling her gun around to hold it, started steadily down into the cave. _Good luck Vegeta._


	7. Chapter 7

As she made her steady way down into the depths of the cavern she felt the tinge of fear that happened every time she was on one of those silly adventures with Goku. Only this time, she was alone. Her mind started to spin with guesses as to what she would find, or rather who? This far away from earth... how could she possibly have pissed anyone off this far out? She had traveled space for years and when she was with Goku, they did occasionally find themselves on the wrong side of a few people. But for someone to send an assassination bot this far was a bit extreme in her view.

She crept along and came slowly upon a turn in the cave, a light was glowing around the corner. She quickly turned off her flashlight and crept closer. Peeking around the rock she saw that the cave opened into a vast cavern, filled with tables and machinery. The tables were all filled to the brim with partial constructed electronics. The glow in the room came mostly from the dozens of lit screens, each flashing or scrolling numbers or odd alien text. Her breath was slow and shallow as she scanned the scene looking for movement. Suddenly there was a clatter across the room, and more noise followed as a being began to move around. After all her anticipation she was ready for any foe that might await her. But as her eyes fell upon a squat little green creature she felt the sudden desire to laugh. It was no bigger then a cat! It moved around like a snail or a slug would, no legs visible to match its stubby little arms. Its face was more lizard like but it's eyes she could not make out through the thick goggles he had strapped to his head. She was assuming it was a he anyway, as she found not one feminine aspect to it as you would most beings.

She watched it for some time, thinking it would be a cinch to just shot it from where she hid. But she had questions, and anyone that knew Bulma knew she would ask them... even if it killed her. Stepping from the cover of the rock earned to immediate attention of the little slug in the room.

"Ah!" It screamed turning towards her.

"Hold it right there buddy!" She barked at him raising her gun level.

"Oh no! Oh no no no! You are not here! You should not be here! What you do here? You should be not here! Be dead!" He yelled his lips curling with anger.

"So it was you! What the hell problem have you got with me? I've never seen you before in my life!"

"No no no no... What you do here. No good. Go. Go and die." He repeated flailing his stubby appendages.

"Who the hell are you freak?" Bulma demanded in a more forceful voice.

"Who is me? Who is me you ask? Why I am Spud. The best... yes best-est."

"Best what?" At this he giggled slightly with the funniest little evil cackle Bulma had ever heard.

"Spud! Greatest scientist in the universe!" He squealed raising his arms triumphantly, he then paused for effect. Bulma flashed a glance around the room, and indeed it was a lab, not the most impressive on, but it still was one. When she obviously did not give the desired response he was looking for he became agitated again. "Why you not dead?" He asked suddenly.

"Why do you want me dead?" Bulma demanded finding she might not have it in her to shot such a pathetic creature.

"Because! I am the best."

"That's not a reason!"

"I am the best. I must be. To prove I must kill all other bests." He informed her rather chuffed with himself.

"You wanna kill me for what? Being a good scientist? Is that it?"

"Yes."

"You crazy little shit head!" Bulma roared, finding that the end of her quest had led to an egotistical slug. Rage filled the woman suddenly, and finding she could not shot him, opened fire on all his inventions around the room.

"NoooOOooOOoooOooo!" Spud screamed running around to victim after victim holding them to his chest as if they were not pieces of electronics but children. He suddenly let out a war cry and ran at Bulma in a fury. As he neared she went to kick him only to have him latch onto her leg and sink his teeth into her calf.

"Ow!" She yelped shaking her leg trying to dislodge him. She finally turned to the wall and began kicking him against it until finally he released. He got up and shook himself off.

"Why you live! You should not be here! Dead! Dead you should be!" He cried.

"Well I'll give you some credit at least. If it had not been for a Sayian I wouldn't be here." She informed him feeling pity well up within her.

"Sayian? Ah... this is more sense... yes... Sayian's are quick... quicker then bots. But no Sayian here now... not now... no indeed." He pondered aloud, and before Bulma had time to think he ran off underneath some tables.

"Hey! Get back here!" But it did no good she could hear him but could not figure out where he had slithered.

"Yes yes yes... round...2" With that he fell silent and Bulma heard a click followed by a small whir noise. Realizing with horror that she was most likely hearing the activation of another kill bot all sympathy left her as she opened fire upon the room. She sprayed blasts anywhere she saw metal, the whole room shook and lit up with the assault. Finally she ceased the onslaught panting heavily with the adrenalin and fear coursing through her veins. The dust in the room slowly began to clear as crumpled equipment became visible throughout the cave.

"Missed me." A small smug little chirp came from across the room. Bulma's eyes shot to the direction of the noise but before she had time to react she was struck by a sharp pain in her side. She gasped sharply through her teeth wincing and carefully peering down to it. Her worst fears were realized as she gazed down at a small silver lizard with it's tail impaled into her midsection. Gritting her teeth she shook off the little bot and leveling her weapon quickly disposed of it. Turning her attention back to the room she started making her way through the debris kicking any piles searching for Spud. Finally after scattering a small lump of metal she heard him squeak and reached down grabbing him by his head to hoist him up level with her face. He was a pathetic little creature that she knew, but to have perfected a kill bot the way he did must have taken some serious practice. He said it himself, she was not the only other best-est in the universe. God knows how many the little shit had killed before his attempt on her.

"Any last words slim ball?" She asked pointing the gun at him.

"See you soon me thinks." With that she discharged her weapon, disposing forever of the greatest scientist in the universe. Mercy, was not something on her mind anymore.

Bulma slumped to the ground, not from any sick or painful feeling, but just a general slumping. She wondered why Vegeta had not joined her by now, the rotation of the planet was only about ten minutes. She realized he might not know that, so in turn would not be sure of how long it would be in between asteroid showers. She smiled to herself, sitting amongst the ruins she created. _Leave it to me... go looking for an assassin only to get assassinated..._ She thought bitterly. Lifting herself off the ground she started to make her way back through the tunnel knowing the Sayian could not keep the ship intact forever. She tried to hurry with this thought in her head, she knew he would not leave without her, and she would not be responsible for the loss of three lives this day.

Coming to the mouth of the tunnel she noticed it was eerily silent, they must be in between showers she thought. She emerged from the cave to find a panting Sayian leaning against a leg of the ship. She figured he had endured about three showers by this point, and the little shuttle seemed no worse for wear. He looked up as she came into view, his gaze growing dark and furious.

"You bitch!" He yelled hands shaking. "I'm going to kill you." He continued as she neared. As she did she started to feel it, first in her legs as they seemed to go numb beneath her. Not able to feel them now she tripped on her next stride, but before she met the ground she was easily caught by the prince. Looking up into his eyes she knew he was no longer angry, or at least putting it aside for later use. The prince scanned her quickly with his eyes observing no obvious damage. He opened his mouth to say something but a nearby impact jolted him back to the situation at hand. The planet was rotating into the belt again, and the sky was rapidly filling with oncoming asteroids. He growled moving with lightning speed to place her down just inside the door of the ship. Flying back out he took down the nearest rock with an energy ball. Sizing up the oncoming traffic he knew this was going to be tight, he had been through the three previous bouts, but now they all seemed closer, bigger, faster. He had a feeling that it was only his mind playing tricks on him as he set to work trying to eliminate the most threatening ones.

She was hurt, hurt and in that ship, the small weak little frail ship that sat on the rock below him. He was now the only thing that stood between the woman and certain death. His muscles screamed, this was the most active he had been since the gravity chamber exploded, and he hadn't had much to train with since. He fought back against the downpour but felt his body begin to buckle under the stress. With the distraction of the woman he had not gotten the head start he had had before, fighting them off from a good altitude with room to spare. They were practically on top of the ship before he had a chance to blast them now, getting closer every second as he fell slowly behind the rhythm. A smaller rock snuck past him and scraped it's way across one side of the shuttle just narrowly missing an actual impact. Having had followed it with his eyes he now spotted the Onna, laying limp just inside the door of the ship, helpless... hurt... probably dieing... He wanted to go to her, to find out what was wrong... to help her even... Looking back up he was met with the sight of a massive asteroid, it was too close. He wouldn't be able to stop it, and even if he did the fragments would destroy the ship

It was then, in that moment, he felt his heart snap... and after that pivotal emotion... 'it' happened.


	8. Chapter 8

She wasn't sure what it was she noticed first. The light lull of the engine, the soft sheets beneath her, or the breathing she could feel exhaling on her arm. Whatever came first, it now slipped away again as the blackness took her once more.

When she recognized the fact she was thinking again she tried to open her eyes, but felt no reaction on the part or her body to the thought. She could hear something moving around her, she could feel she still remained on a bed, and she could smell him. She connected the first and last of those sensations after a few moments and realized Vegeta was with her. She relaxed now a bit, knowing that if he was there, then she was safe. She could tell the sound of the engine was that of the V1, plus the shuttle had no beds, so they must have made it back okay.

She jolted in her head as she felt a sudden contact on her arm, a hand... his hand. It remained there a moment before it moved up to her cheek, it was icy cold against her skin. _Fever..._ She murmured in her head. _I have a fever... poison... I'm not dead!_ She was suddenly swept over by a tide of joy as she found she had indeed survived this far. When she had gotten jabbed she was certain it was all over. As she rejoiced her mind slipped back down again into the abyss.

Vegeta sat starring furiously at the sleeping woman. Why were humans so weak? How had they survived as a race this long? He did not know or understand how... but it seemed to be simply blind luck to him. _Wake up you stupid woman..._ He thought in his head. He found it absurd that he was this infatuated with her condition. Last night, he had even slept close enough to her so that he could hear her heart beating! How pathetic is that! He half chuckled in spit of himself though, he knew he liked her, he knew that it was that emotion that had allowed him to achieve his goal. He had only her to thank for his ascension and he knew it, but over his dead body would he ever let anyone else know it. Still... her lack of improvement actually worried him. She was burning up, and hadn't moved on inch since she collapsed on the planet.

Bulma caught herself thinking again. _Is this a coma?_ She thought to herself, she wished she knew. Giving up on thinking about it she tried to tell what was going on in the room again. It was silent, completely silent. She wondered for a long time if he had left her, but as the bed shifted slightly she knew he was there, next to her. Why was he staying so close? She didn't actually wonder that, she knew, she had known for awhile. How stupid were they being! Denying themselves a chance for what? Nothing, she could see it clearly now, there was no reason to pretend they hated each other. She thought it ironic that they may have missed their chance, she might never wake up from whatever this was... and she would never be able to speak those words that she now wanted to scream through her soul...

"I love you." Yes! She spoke! She said something! She was awake! It took her a few moments to realize that the words had not been passed by her lips. She still remained unable to say or do anything she found... That's when it hit her, he had said it. Vegeta the Prince of Sayian's just told her unconscious body the he loved her... She would have cried if she were able, but she could do nothing.

"Don't die." She heard him murmur beside her before she was gone again.

Vegeta stared intently at her as she slept on. They were still a week out from Earth... from help. He had known enough to give her an IV drip but much beyond that he was not an expert on. He already tried to reach someone back on earth but even Bulma's COM system could get out that far. He was well and truly at a loss of what to do. He had nearly no idea of how long a human could continue on in this state. He did know though, that if she didn't come out of it soon HE would be the one needing medical attention. The warrior felt as if he were going insane, his mind ran over scenarios that he had no clue how to justify. The night before, as he fell asleep he had even stipulated that if she were die while he slumbered she would never know that he didn't actually hate her. So took it upon himself to tell her so! He was going nuts and he knew it.

At first she though she was dreaming, colors of nothing flashed and waved before her eyes. Shapes and patterns and more colors. She wasn't really concerned at all with the show until she felt the need to blink... _blink_... to blink as if her eyes were open. So she did, and the colors sharpened a bit. She blinked again and the shapes became more defined. Again and she started to recognize things. Finally she lay there, starring at the ceiling, looking at the pot lights and panels that made up the ceilings of the V1. _Am I dreaming?_ The thought flitted through her mind. She squeezed her fist to find it stiff and weak. She was not dreaming... she was awake, and to be awake, you had to be alive.

"Vegeta?" She whispered in a hoarse voice. She instantly felt the bed shift with a jolt. Turning her head ever so slightly she found the prince sitting up to look down at her. His eyes were wide with shock, or relief, or both, she wasn't sure. She smiled for some odd reason, she knew it would make him uncomfortable but she didn't care anymore. "Hay ya Baka." He voice rasped out as her eyes shut for a moment to rest. She heard him give a rather happy scoff, she liked that sound she decided.

"So you finally decide to wake up you lazy cow." He choked hardly able to keep his composure. She smiled again, and opened her eyes to meet his. They stayed that way for a moment, just starring.

"How far from home?" She managed.

"About five days... what happened in the cave?"

"Killed the fucker... so your not going to kill me?"

"Still thinking about it... Why did somebody want to kill you? That is to say, someone who DIDN'T know you."

"... I heard you..."

"They heard you what?"

"... I heard you... while I was asleep."

"..."

"I heard you Vegeta."

"God know what sort of hallucinations you were having woman."

"It wasn't a hallucination... I heard you..."

"Your mad Onna."

"...Vegeta..."

"What?"

"I love you too." His jaw dropped slightly as he looked down at her. Struck speechless was not something that happened to him often.

"Go back to sleep woman... I liked you better that way."

"Your not fooling me Vegeta."

"I don't have to fool a fool... You were dreaming something up in a fever... it's quite common actually."

"I wasn't dreaming... I heard you say it. You also told me not to die."

"So what if I did! You were obviously not meant to hear it! So mind your own business." She nearly died laughing at this. Of course her attempt at laughing in her current state was no more than a few hacking coughs and a lot of breathing.

"Your not getting out of this one Say..." She was cut short as he suddenly leaned forward and to her uttermost shock sealed her mouth with his. She was also shocked to find the Prince was a good kisser... softer then she had imagined it would be to kiss a hardened warrior. He slowly withdrew staring down at her again. She lay there, silent, with a small and peaceful smile as her eyelids began to bob.

"God... if I knew it was that easy to shut you up I would have done it a long time ago." He growled in a much to soft voice. She willingly let her head drop to the side as she succumb to the heaviness of sleep again.

Vegeta did not have the 'good' angel and the 'bad' angel on opposing shoulders as humans did. He had what he considered the 'weak' demon and the 'strong' demon. He could vividly picture his 'weak' demon at this very moment beating the living shit out of his 'strong' demon... which by principal should not even be able to happen. Whatever the case was, he felt weak... but somehow... that was not an entirely bad feeling at the moment. This scared him a bit, which again came with few bad feelings. He was sure this would not end well... but at the same time could not turn away from her.

_Get out! Get away! Stop! This will only end in tragedy!_ The loosing demon shouted.

'_This' is what made you a Super Sayian!_ The weak demon countered.

_Whats the point of being a weak, pathetic, mushy, loving SS!_

_ ...She is..._

He sighed unable to deny that fact... he loved her.. he knew it... she knew it... and soon... everyone would probably know it. A shudder ran down his spin thinking about it.

Bulma's eyes opened again to wakefulness. She smiled again as memories filled her mind. Turning her head again she was a bit shocked to find the rest of the bed empty. Shock hit her again as she found she was no longer on the V1, she was in her own room on Earth. She forced herself up into a creaky sit. It was night, and she was alone. If she were able she would have hyperventilated.

_Where is he?_ She screamed in her mind. Even with the very strong protests of her body she pulled her legs off the side of the bed and pushed herself up to stand. She felt like she had raided a whole liquor store... alone... She wobbled and shuffled to her door, using anything in her path to hold herself up with. She made it to the door and managed to lean on the wall as she opened it. The whole house seemed asleep, she had no clue what time it was other then 'dark'. Pulling herself out of her room she started down the hallway using the wall as a crutch. It felt as though it took an eternity to reach the end, to reach his door. She thought for a half a second about knocking... even banging on it, but then decided just to barge in. She forgot the door opened inwards, and as she turned the knob fell straight in through it.

He was to her in a flash, she never had a chance of hitting the floor.

"What the hell are you at woman?" He asked again too softly for his liking.

"Me? What the hell are you at? Why are you in here? Why am I in there? Don't be such an asshole that your going to act like nothing hap..." Again she found herself cut off by lips. She was going to have to find a way to get around that little trick. He pulled away from her, and she could swear through the darkness she could make out a half crooked smile. He lifted her up as he stood, shut his door, and carried her back to his bed laying her down on her side. Once he had crawled into his side he lay there eyes locked with hers.

"When we got back you were out of it again... Your parents sort of just took over. It seemed an awkward thing to just crawl into bed with you when they had no idea..." He admitted in a half whisper. She sort of understood, but still couldn't help being half angry with him.

"Baka"

"Bitch"

"Asshole"

"Go to sleep."

"Love you."

"Humph..." She smiled at his grunted reply, knowing that it was not a rebuttal... she was softening his Armour and she knew it. She left it for the moment though, as he turned away and settled down to seek out sleep, she merely had to close her eyes to find it.


	9. Chapter 9

Vegeta had a problem. Not just a normal regular 'human' problem, a royal, massive, Sayian type problem. He sat rasping his fingers on the smooth white metal that his hand rested on. His eyes flickered over the deck of the V1 once more as his frown deepened. He needed to train, and not here... on earth. He was not ready yet to face the others, his powers were still... unsteady. The ship was more then adequate to his needs, she was to thank for that as well. His lips curled into a half smirk, would he ever let her know what his trigger had been? Her safety, her protection, her life... her? He wasn't ready to admit that yet, and that 'yet' was another thing that shocked him lately.

_Just go_ His mind repeated back to him. But he knew this was very iffy to say the least. When he had transformed back on that horrid little rock, he felt his mind slip from his body. He had no control, no decision, no choice in what he did. He went mad... To be honest, he knew that this was not a long leap to take from his normal mindset, but still, control to him was pivotal at all times. To have power without control was an easy thing... a 'monkey' could do that... But to be able to harness that power was truly to be a Sayian Warrior.

This is where it got tricky. In that time, that time when he slipped into mayhem. There was one thing that kept him from losing himself completely, one thing that led him back to himself and held him from the abyss of madness. It was of course that cocky little Onna that so infuriated and yet intrigued him. Bulma... Would he be able to find his way back without her? What would hold him to reality? What did he have besides Pride? Which did not seem to be enough the all these years... If he transformed again, and lost himself, he knew he would destroy not only himself, but the ship, possibly any nearby planets... everything he could get his hands on before he exploded.

How in the name of god, did his life ever get this complicated?

Bulma lay in the cool sheets of the bed a sheen of sweat washing over her body. The poison was taking it's sweet time working it's way out of her system. At least the headaches were gone, she was infinitely grateful for that. The vast periods of unconsciousness were also a thing of the past, all that seemed left now were these odd waves of nausea.

She found herself passing more and more of her time in her lab... if that were possible. Days seemed to slip past without a thought, and nights always seemed to find her quickly. She realized she should keep a notebook on the bed stand, as she seemed to have the most brilliant thoughts while she laid in bed. It was during one of these brilliance sessions with herself that the bathroom door opened and a clean and shirtless Sayian walked into the room, chucking a towel in the corner before crossing over to the bed. He flicked the light off and began to sink into the bed when finally his nose cleared of the aromas of shampoo enough to pick up the smell of fresh sweat. His head flicked to the side as he peered at her in the darkness, his eyes slicing through it like butter.

"What the hell is wrong with you now?" He asked twitching his nose slightly, not that she could see it.

"Shhhhh..." She murmured. He realized now that she was half mouthing words to herself.

"If you silence me one more time woman I suggest doing it from your own bed... in your own bedroom..." He threatened lowly as she jerked slightly.

"God damn it Vegeta!" She squirmed a frown twisted on her face. "I lost my train of thought!" She barked a hand freed itself from her covers and smacked out at his making contact with his shoulder.

"Did you just hit me?" The woman paused in thought at the question, but instead of answering the obvious lashed out again and to her shock he didn't stop the fist making contact with his nose.

Vegeta's mouth fell slightly open as he blinked away the unfamiliar sensation of a smack in the nose. He actually thought he might be dreaming, he must be dreaming. He had never met anyone in his entire life stupid enough to do what she just did. To make things even worse, she now had a VERY smug smirk on her face turning away from him and snuggling down into HIS blanket. Just when he thought he might never come back to reality she added to his horror by breaking the silence.

"Twice... learn to count." This was followed by a happy little sigh. The Prince was not sure how long it had been since his last inhale of oxygen, he was sure he would eventually need to but at the same time afraid to open his trachea for fear of the sound he might emit.

Bulma snuggled further into her bed quite content with her show of deficiency towards him, the fact her fist was probably sprained didn't bother her at all. She was slightly worried about the silence but didn't give a glance back at him.

After much hurried and completely bizarre thought patterns Vegeta scrunched his face up extended an index finger and with unconscious restraint reached out and poked her 'human' hard in her side.

"Ow!" The Onna screeched wheeling back to face him. She met his glare with furry, but after a few silent moments of locked eyes between them, cracked and began laughing, a sound he had become frighteningly found of. "Is that the best you can do? Poke me?" She laughed her glee resonating through her voice like syrup. She couldn't see him very well in the dark but knew well he could see her clearly, and so stuck her tongue out at him. The Sayian was upon her in an instant having captured her two hands pinning them above her had, and with his legs caught hers effectively holding her immobile. Her laughing caught in her throat as she evaluated the situation, but then continued. "And just what do you intend on doing now O great one?" She laughed.

"Since it would be pointless to kill you, I'll just make you wish I would." His voice rumbled like thunder from his chest. Silence fell in the room as Bulma pondered the meaning of his words. Before she had a chance for a smart ass comment though, she felt his other hand reach down to the side of her stomach and to her utter shock he began to tickle her.

Vegeta knew that humans were ticklish but this was ridiculous. He was finding it to be extremely entertaining, he had never heard her beg before and it was music to his ears. He paused every once and awhile to let her breath when she would turn a funny shade of blue. She was using curse words that he didn't even know about and her tactic for release changed every so often.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Please! Oh god please! I won't do it again I promise! Never! I'll kill you if you don't stop! I'm gonna kill you! I'll shoot you! I'll club you! I'll chop your nuts off!" Finally after he had had his fill and she seemed to be tiring he stop and contentedly flopped back down onto his pillow. Bulma lay limp beside him still trying to catch her breath. Sure that he had won he shut his eyes and prepared for sleep. So when she pulled herself up and climbed up on top of him, straddling him at the waist he was surprised.

"Haven't you learned your lesson woman?" He chimed.

"My turn asshole." She barked.

"Ah but you see, I'm not ticklish like you frail..." The words caught halfway out of his throat as he became shockingly aware that she had reached down between them and grabbed them... yes... THAT 'them'.

"Now, I have terms of surrender if you wish to hear them." The woman hummed in his ear. Vegeta could safely say he had NEVER been in this situation before. He could just flick her off, but she had a serious grip on him, and god knows what damage her nails would inflict, he would also probably hurt her in the process. No one had ever gotten close enough to him to ever have been able to threaten him this way. Bulma suddenly clenched her fist vexed he had not answered. The groan that slipped from his throat confirmed her theory that he was a bit stuck.

"I will make you suffer for this woman." He growled. Bulma just laughed, her body shaking him slightly.

"I guessed as much, but for right now, I have the upper hand." Vegeta glared up at her.

"Terms."

"A kiss."

"A what!"

"A kiss baka."

"You happen to be one of the oddest creatures I have ever met."

"Yes I know but you seem to like me anyway."

"Where did you get that idea?"

"From you, 'Bulma, I love you, don't die' I think were the words used." She did her impression of his voice while quoting, adding salt to the wound. Vegeta promptly sank into a glowering sulk beneath her, no retort. "Kiss." She added smiling. Vegeta looked back up to her and stared for a long moment through the darkness into her eyes. The woman was so cocky she might as well have been a Sayian, or a pit-bull. Reaching up with a hand he caught the back of her head gently and pulled her down to meet his lips. Bulma had been expecting compliance but when he didn't immediately pull away again was shocked. Vegeta deepened the kiss his other arm wrapping around the small of her back drawing her body down to press against him. Somewhere along the way her hand released it's captives, and at this the Sayian rolled her down to the bed and continued his attack from above her. Every inch of the way he had to remind himself how frail she actually was compared to him. He hadn't really thought of it before but he might actually kill her just by making love to her. He wondered how Kakarot had managed it, he had no discipline at all. He felt mostly fine the way it was going until that is she moaned... it was the sexiest thing to ever fill his ears he was sure of it. His blood nearly boiled over at the sound, causing him to pause above her and brake the contact of their lips.

"Don't stop." She pleaded from under him, her brain fuzzy to anything but the anticipation. Vegeta growled softly, not his usual one though, this was a new noise to Bulma, and she kinda liked it.

"Woman... I think I might hurt you." He whispered to her gently pressing his cheek to hers making it impossible for her to see his eyes. Bulma wrapped her legs around his waist giving him a squeeze as her arms did the same around his chest. Most woman might have taken this confession as a turn on, but she knew well that for him to even say something meant it was a real danger. Letting out a long sigh she held firm to him, waiting for the rapid beating of her heart to slow. The Sayian remained crouched above her seemingly doing the same thing, his head now pressed into the bed above her right shoulder. After a moment her shifted and fell to the side, she was not sure if he meant to or not but her ears caught the light groan as he did.

"Well... This sucks." She sighed heavy beside him. Vegeta turned his gaze to her a sly grin upon his features in the darkness was still slightly visible to Bulma.

"Do you ever do anything but complain?" He grumbled but she could still see the mirth.

"Well excuse me for being disappointed Prince, but I am a woman after all and teasing us like that is cruel even for the like of you."

"Even for me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"That your an asshole."

"Oh... Well that's alright." Bulma let out a rolling laugh at his reaction, she was always humored by the way he embraced such insults as if they were compliments. Vegeta watched her carefully in the dark, completely absorbed by the way she bounced as she laughed. His brain was savagely trying to conceive of a way to have her without killing her. He decided it was very much like his normal training exercises, and that he would have to practice self control. He couldn't help himself he found as he rolled up again covering her body with his, and latching his lips to hers. When they came up for air finally Bulma gasped beneath him.

"But I thought..."

"Shut up for once in your life Bulma..."


	10. Chapter 10

The clicking of the knife on the chopping board was so rhythmic it nearly lulled her to sleep as she chopped. She was sure she would get carpal tunnel from feeding the Saiyan. Somehow though this was better then the alternative of him trying to make something himself. She knew she shouldn't complain though, he had only been home a week anyway. He had spent months in space training off in some distant place. She would have minded but he had agreed to come back before the baby was born, and he did. She rubbed her tummy absent minded as she hummed to herself. He had given her that much, and she was glad for it, for him to yield to a request like this was a shock to her but she knew she could never tell anyone about the reason for his early return. The androids weren't due for several months.

Vegeta sat in a meditative pose on the roof of CC. He could hear the Onna's kitchen noises as she tromped around cooking. It was incredible how large she sounded for someone so small. Partly it was her way he knew, but additionally it was also the condition she was in. He hadn't been surprised when she told him nearly nine months ago. Yet the fact he knew something of the sort was amiss it still was disturbing to have it confirmed. Silly woman actually insisted he was back for the birthing... like he would ever be absent from such a thing. This was his child... his Onna... now his family. He had accepted this some time back, but she still insisted upon him verbally agreeing to the obvious. Why humans liked to talk so much was beyond him, they could leave nothing unsaid apparently.

"VEGEEEEEEEEEETA!" Her voice boomed from the kitchen, the sheer volume of which made even the hardened warrior twitch.

Bulma clinked down the last of the platters of food onto the table, looking up just in time to witness the Prince's entrance through the window. Briefly making eye contact she turned again to fetch a drink before sitting. The strong yet gentle grasp of her arm stopped her in her tracts. Looking back with a frown she found the Sayian matching her stare intently.

"Vegeta?..." She asked carefully when he did not speak.

"You know I love you right?" He rumbled. She had to brace her other arm on the counter, this was the first he had ever said anything of the sort to her consciously.

"...Y...Yes... I love you too."

"And not just because of this." He said letting his eyes drop to her bulging abdomen. "I loved you before this, and I'll love you more for this... and ever after... you know that right?" Bulma stood mouth ajar, holding her breath for fear of the noise that might burble out. He watched intently as her eyes welled up and her features began to tremble lightly. In a flash she buried her face into his chest quietly sobbing into the taller man.

She never did reply, the first time Vegeta noted, she had deemed no words necessary.

**AN: Thank you to everyone for reading this, it was my first real attempt at this story I love so much. I hope I didn't screw it up too badly for some people, and I hope most of you enjoyed it. CC**


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Dragon Ball Z, Romance, Suspense